“What are you…?” I started. But I knew.
He stripped off his shirt and unfastened his jeans.
Blood rushed in my ears. I darted a look at the porch railing in case I needed something to hold me upright.
Beck toed off his boots and shoved his jeans and boxer briefs down his thighs. His body was rugged perfection, his shoulders and arms corded with muscle. Black-and-silver chest hair covered his pecs and formed a narrow trail down his rippling stomach. Shiny, rope-like scars crisscrossed his torso, indicating he’d survived some kind of violence.
But I couldn’t linger on it, not when his manhood swung heavy against his thigh. It was as big as the rest of him, his thick shaft covered in plump veins from base to tip. Large testicles nestled underneath, and a patch of black hair covered his groin.
Blue light erupted around him, the glow so bright that I flung up a hand to shield my eyes. But I didn’t keep it there for long. I had to see.
Beck’s transformation was swift, his body shifting and contorting in swirls of fur and flesh. Wiry brown hair burst from his skin. His face elongated into a massive muzzle.
Within seconds, a towering bear stood before me, his shadow stretching across the porch. Beck’s fur was a rich brown so dark it was almost black. Here and there, silver tufts peeked from his rippling coat. His nose was a deep, velvety looking black, and his ears were as rounded and fluffy as a teddy bear’s.
But his eyes held my attention. Dark and round, they gleamed with intelligence.
The bear moved forward. Between one step and the next, light blazed, stinging my eyes. I squeezed them shut and turned my head against the glare. When I recovered, Beck stood nude and wholly human once more.
Gaze never leaving mine, he grabbed his discarded clothes from the porch floor and dressed quickly. He left his shirt unbuttoned as he took my hand.
“These are my brothers,” he said quietly, his voice deeper than usual.
My thoughts spun like I’d stumbled onto a carnival ride. Bears. They were bears. They could shift into humans. Magic was real. Biology as I knew it was incomplete. Everything I’d studied, everything I’d believed was wrong.
“Breathe,” Beck said, stroking his thumb over my knuckles. “Deep breaths, Charlotte.”
My vision swam. My mouth hung open, and I realized I was on the verge of hyperventilating. Nodding, I squeezed Beck’s hand as I forced myself to take slower breaths.
“Good girl,” Beck murmured.
The words were like a caress between my thighs. Apparently, not even being confronted with the supernatural was enough to erase my attraction to him.
“You’re bears,” I said, my voice hoarse in my ears. “You’re a bear.” Maybe if I said it enough times, I could make myself believe it.
“Bear shifters,” he said.
“Bear shifters,” I repeated weakly.
“Yes.”
I looked at the men assembled in the parking lot, each one huge and ripped with muscle, before turning back to Beck. “This is…the most extraordinary phenomenon I’ve ever encountered.”
Beck’s lips twitched. “That’s your reaction? Scientific curiosity?”
“You’re all bears? The whole town?”
“Except for our mates,” Beck said. “There are about sixty of us, give or take.”
Sixty individuals. It was enough for a breeding population. But how had they managed to avoid detection? Were the legends I’d read about true? Questions exploded in my mind.
“How is this possible?” I asked. “Is it magic or biology or some combination? Can you interbreed with actual bears?”
A horrified look crossed Beck’s face. “No?—”
“What triggers the shift? How long have you existed?” The questions tumbled faster. I needed a notepad. “What’s your evolutionary history? Are there other species? Other shifters?”
“Charlotte,” Beck said, putting his free hand on my shoulder. “Maybe we should go inside and sit down. We can talk about what you’ve just seen.”
